Don't Tell Anyone
by Lillian Gelding
Summary: Severus Snape meets James Potter's cousin at his third year of Hogwarts.
1. Chapter 1

Ok, I suppose I should do one of those disclaimer things. I am not—I repeat I am NOT J.K. Rowling. She is a genius. I am not. These characters her hers and hers alone. Only Beatrix is mine. Also, I am 100 American. I am not versed in British lingo and slang, so if I use an American slang word just tell me the correct version and I'll change it. Same with the Magical Society lingo and slang.

Chapter I

The train shuddered and bounced uncontrollably. A young girl sat curled up in a corner of an empty compartment, reading. She would smile occasionally and grip the covers through an exciting part. Suddenly, there was a dull scraping sound as the compartment door was slid open. The girl snapped the book shut and shoved it into an inner pocket of her robes.

The person entering stopped short. "Sorry. I thought this was empty," he said, turning to go.

"No, you don't have to go!" she said, sitting up. "I was just reading an old book of mine and I could use the company."

The boy sat down across from her. "First year?" He asked her.

"Yea, but I'm not really nervous. I have—for lack of better description—'inside information,'" She said staring out of the window.

The boy, in turn, stared at her. She looked familiar, but he could not put his finger on it. There was no doubt she was beautiful; it was not only her appearance but her seemingly unending stock of self-confidence. He could think of only one other person who was just as beautiful as this girl. He blushed very slightly as he thought of Lily Evans.

"Are you okay?" She said unexpectedly.

He jumped. "Of course," he said, too quickly to be believable.

She smiled and held out her hand, "Hi. I'm Beatrix Potter. But most people call me Trixie."

The boy shook her hand but frowned, "Potter? I wasn't aware that he had any siblings."

"James? No, he's an only child. I'm his cousin. He supplied my inside info on Hogwarts before I came of age."

The atmosphere in the compartment became frosty after that. Neither of them spoke for the next ten minutes.

Finally, Trixie broke the silence and said very quietly, "Severus…you're…not going to hold that against me? Me, being a Potter?"

"How do you know my name?" He burst out suspiciously.

"It's not too hard to figure out. James is constantly making fun of you at home. By the way, you didn't answer me."

Severus looked down biting his lip. He sighed and said, "I won't…as long as you don't hold it against me that I'm an enemy of your cousin's."

Trixie smiled widely and said, "You have yourself a deal!"

"Is there a certain House that you wanted to be in?" Severus said, trying to make conversation.

"Well, to be honest, no. Everyone expects me to be in Gryffindor with James and the others but I have a natural tendency to do the opposite of what everyone wants me to do."

That answer seemed to be pretty final so he tried again, "What were you reading?"

"You don't want to know."

"Come on!"

"I'll tell you what, if I get into your house, I'll tell you, but you have to promise not to laugh or think I'm weird or anything."

"That's not possible. I couldn't laugh at you…"

A commotion outside the compartment caused them both to look up. Thinking quickly, Trixie pulled out an Invisibility Cloak and threw it over Severus.

In piled four thirteen year old boys. All of them were talking and laughing. "Hey, Trix! What are you doing in here all by your lonesome?" asked the tallest one with tousled hair.

"Reading," she said, holding up her book. "You missed a spot, James. There's a patch of hair that refuses to stand up straight."

"You're reading that stupid book again, Trix?" said Sirius Black. James had pushed him down into the seat next to her. Thankfully, no one had sat down in Severus' spot.

"How would you know if it was stupid? You've never read it, Black!"

"Come now, Trix. Don't pick fights with your future husband," James said. Trixie thought she heard a stifled gasp from Severus' corner.

Trixie scoffed and Peter Pettigrew twitched convulsively in the farthest corner. She knew why too. Trixie knew, for a fact, that Wormtail harboured a very secret crush on her since forever. Unfortunately for him, the very thought of Wormtail even touching her was revolting.

"Please guys, I'm trying to read. I just got to the good part. Now go hang out with the popular crowd where you belong."

"Come with us, Trixie! You're my cousin and soon-to-be Sirius' girlfriend. You're as good as in!" James said. Trixie thought she heard something that sounded like a stifled gag come from the seemingly empty corner.

"I'd rather vomi—I mean, read," she said with a forced smile.

"We're almost there, dear," said Remus Lupin as he gave her a pat on the back.

"Your welcome anytime, sweetheart," said Wormtail, as they all filed out. Trixie grimaced and gagged when the door had slid shut.

Severus threw off the cloak and shot up. "You can't seriously like him!" He exploded, going red in the face.

"Who? Wormtail?"

"No! _Black_!" He said with a look of utmost contempt on his face.

"Well, I don't know when it became any of your business, but no. Never in a million years. Sirius is an ass."

"But…"

"Forget what James said! James is delusional, he believes that I have the world's biggest crush on Sirius and sees what he wants to see," she said.

Severus sat back down and took a deep breath, "Sorry," he whispered, not meeting her eyes.

"Why?"

"Well, I…um…I think…never mind."

"Okay, whatever. Um, we're almost there. I'd better gather up my stuff."

As Trixie pulled her trunk down from the shelf above and was preparing to exit the compartment, Severus stopped her. "Hey, I, um, I hope that your in my House."

She smiled and said, "I'll ask the Hat, when I get there."


	2. Chapter 2

"_Hm_," said a voice inside Trixie's head. "_You would do well, in Huffelpuff. In that house you can let your personality shine_. _Strong and sweet_."

"Um, Mr. Sorting Hat, can I ask you something? What if I don't particularly want to be in Huffelpuff?" Trixie asked the old hat on her head, under her breath.

_"Oh? Why not?"_

"Well, I'd rather be in Slytherin."

_"Slytherin? Why would you want that? You know as well as I do that you would be an out-cast. Your 'opposing loyalties' would be bound to appear sometime, and the other students will not take kindly to that."_

"True. But to tell you the truth, Mr. Hat, I'd rather have one true friend than a bunch of superficial ones. I think I might find that type of friend in Slytherin," Trixie said.

"_Well put. Be it on your brim, not mine_," it said. Then the old Sorting Hat shouted, "SLYTHERIN!"

Trixie smiled. The looks on James' and Sirius' faces were priceless but Remus smiled knowingly. Pettigrew just sat there looking very much like he wanted to cry. She was glad to have escaped that particular fate.

Trixie sat down at the empty space beside Severus, trying extremely hard to look innocent. She could feel James' icy stare on her head but she shoved all thoughts of him to the back of her mind.

"Told you I'd ask," was all she said. They listened to the rest of the sorting in silence, but this time the long silence was comfortable.

Once Professor Dumbledore had made his speech and announcements the feast appeared. Not feeling very hungry, Trixie only took a few English muffins and sat chewing thoughtfully on one of them.

"So…are you going to tell me or not?" Severus asked her, also picking at his food.

"Tell you what?" she asked, confused.

Severus sighed and said, "The name…of the book."

Comprehension dawned on Trixie's face and she laughed so energetically that her strawberry-blond curls bounced. "Oh! It's um, it's and old Muggle book written by a woman named Margaret Mitchell." She pulled the paperback from her pocket. "It's called _Gone with the Wind_ and it's been my favorite story since I first laid my hands on it about two years ago."

Severus had taken the book from her hand and was flipping through the pages. "You were reading stuff like this when you were nine?" he asked, astonished.

"Actually I was ten. I'll be twelve tomorrow. And I'm proud of my vocabulary," she said, taking back the book. She changed the subject before he could start making fun of her, "Who is the Potions Master?"

"Professor Slughorn, why do you ask?" Severus asked.

"Potions is the class I am most looking forward to. I've been practicing since I was five when I received my first Potions set. I begged for that thing for about three months!" She laughed, thinking back. "What's your favorite class?"

"Defense against the Dark Arts, but I'm talented at Potions as well."

"Really? Well, I do believe I have found my study partner!" she smiled. She looked back at her plate and frowned and then pushed the plate a couple of inches away from her with an uninterested air.

"Not hungry?" Severus asked her.

"No! Of course not! I'm just mad at my food right now," the sarcasm ever so slightly evident in her voice. "Listen, I'm going to head on up or down or wherever we sleep—you know—as a House." She stood up and started towards the door.

Severus jumped up and caught up with her, "Wait! You don't even know how to get to the common room."

"I'll find it," she said shrugging.

"Yea, sure you will. Let me show you," he said taking her by the elbow and pulling her down a hall to the left. Down they went through what seemed to Trixie hundreds of halls and staircases but it couldn't have been more than twelve. Suddenly they stopped in front of a blank stretch of wall.

Catching her breath, "Why are we stopping?"

"We're here. Still think you could have found our common room by yourself?"

"Yea," Trixie said, lamely. "I don't know how I'm going to find it again. Finding it once is one story but finding it twice is a _completely_ different one. I'm defiantly going to need a map."

Severus wasn't listening to her though. He was feeling along the cracks in the wall and muttering to himself. He seemed to find what he was looking for after a minute or two and pulled out what looked like a tiny shred of parchment. After reading it, he said, "Hm," then he stuffed the strip back into the wall. The boy then stood back and said very clearly, "Veritaserum."

The wall started to vibrate and then open. Trixie wore a very surprised look on her face as Severus stepped through the hole. A few feet inside, he stopped, turned around, stepped back outside, and dragged Trixie through the hole before it closed on them.

They both sat down on the couch in front of the fire. Trixie was looking around with interest and drowsiness. The walls were bare with only greenish torches to grace them and the ceiling was low. The combined effect on Trixie was comforting. She felt sleep pulling at her eyes but jerked awake at the sound of the rest of the Slytherins pouring through the hole in the wall.

"Good night, Beatrix," Severus said. Then he got up and headed up the stairs with the other boys.

Trixie stood up as well and stretched. She followed the straggling girls up to her dormitory.


	3. Chapter 3

Trixie lay awake in her bed early the next morning, staring at the roof of her canopy. She listened to the other girls snoring loudly as she silently planned out her day.

What about James? Did he freak because he saw her and Severus leave together? Maybe she could avoid him…it's a big school. Maybe he didn't notice. Fat chance.

"_Oh well, what's done is done_," she thought to herself. The question was: whether or not she would do it again. Of course she would, Trixie sensed in Severus a great loneliness, the same loneliness she felt in herself. "_I might as well get up; I need to go to the Owlery."_

Trixie got out of bed and dressed. Standing in front of the mirror, she eyed the image skeptically as if it might be lying to her. She had a heart-shaped face and lips with well-defined cheekbones. James' trademark stone-grey eyes stared back at her but instead of his mischief hinting around the corners, she had only cool intelligence. James had always wanted her to be in the popular crowd with him. It was probably because he wanted to keep an eye on her; he couldn't have just any guy snogging his precious cousin.

A mere two years ago she had sat among James' group during summer vacation, listening intently about their antics at school. Deluded James had thought that this was because she had a crush on Sirius but he was wrong. Trixie had stuck around them and Wormtail's staring for one reason only: Remus Lupin. Of course, she would never tell James…or anyone for that matter.

Downstairs, the fire had died down but the torches were still going strong which made the common room slightly stuffy. Trixie plopped down on the couch but a sharp movement in the armchair across the room caused her to leap back up again and swear loudly.

"Severus!" she panted with her hand on her heart. "What were you thinking hiding in a corner like that? Merlin!"

"I wasn't hiding, but I'm sorry if I scared you," he said with his hands behind his back.

"No apology needed. I guess I'm just jumpy, being in a new place and all…" she trailed off when she noticed his hands. "What are you hiding?" She asked as she tried to see around her friend's back.

"Oh nothing," Severus said, producing a navy-blue rose in full bloom. "I just thought I'd get you something for your birthday."

Trixie gasped as she took the rose from him. She walked over to a mirror by the door, put her hair in a bun and planted the rose in the middle of it. She stood back admiring the effect.

"Very nice," Severus said from behind her.

She beamed. "Really? You think so?"

Totally unable to describe the delighted look on her face, he just nodded.

She turned around and placed her hands on her hips. "Well, I'm hungry. Are you? Care to show me to the Great Hall?" As they left the common room she looked over at him, clutching her bag of books to her chest. "That was pretty smooth. How'd you know that navy-blue was my favorite color?"

"That's a lot of questions in two minutes," he said looking ahead.

"Well?"

He sighed. "I just speculated. I mean, your invisibility cloak was navy and so was your luggage trunk…" He finally looked over at her.

"Quick, Severus. Very quick. Well, I guess you have to be with James and company always on you tail."

"I can handle myself, fine!" he said defensively.

"And I don't doubt it. I'm just saying that I don't think it's very…wise…that…you try to take on both Sirius and James at the same time," she said trying to choose her words carefully. "Not to mention, that you've probably _started_ your share of duels."

"And I've won my share of them!"

"_Boys_," she thought. "Oh, Merlin's Beard! I had to go to the Owlery!"

"Why?"

"Oh, um, I just had to send a gift out."

"A gift? On _your _birthday?"

"Yea. Well, we're already at the Great Hall. I'll do it after lessons."

Severus had a perplexed look on his face but Trixie did not elaborate. She walked over to the Slytherin table and piled her plate. After forfeiting her dinner the previous night, Trixie had an appetite. Severus sat down across from her and did the same.

A small white box plopped down on the table next to her. Trixie looked up in time to see Lupin walking away. He probably did not want to be seen by James, she suspected.

"What is it, Beatrix?" Severus was looking from the box to her face.

"Probably hate mail," she answered with a small smile on her face. She untied the twine and opened the lid. Glittering in the morning sun was a blue amethyst ring. The gem was cut into the shape of an eagle. "Oh my. It-it's beautiful…"

"Why an eagle?"

"Now _you're_ the one asking too many questions. That information is confidential." She slipped the ring on her pinkie and examined it. "Hopefully, James didn't curse it."

Ten minutes later, she stood up. "Well, I'm done. I'm going to head off to…" she checked her schedule, "Transfiguration."

"I'll show you, if—if you want," Severus said.

"Whatever suits you."

One hour later, Trixie came out of her Transfiguration lesson. Four third year boys were gathered outside her classroom. James looked livid.

"Pettigrew," Trixie said with a small nod in his direction. Then with the biggest smile she could muster, she said, "Hi, James! Hi Sirius! Hello, Remus! How was your first class?"

"What…were…you…thinking?" James said very slowly, as if trying his best to keep cool. Remus reached out and grabbed his collar.

"About what, dearest cousin?" Trixie said in a high voice.

"You sat next to him, talked to him, left with him!" James said in a loud enough voice to cause several students to look over at their little drama.

"Who?"

James pointed his wand at her neck, "What are you and owl? Don't play dumb with me," he whispered.

The other boys stepped back and Remus growled, "James, don't do anything stupid." Pettigrew twitched.

Trixie however was unabashed. She looked down at the wand and then spread her arms wide. "What are you going to do? Jinx me? Go, ahead. I dare you. But…be careful of what you eat or drink for the next few years. Maybe you should keep a bezoar handy."

James blinked as this threat hit home. Slowly, James lowered his wand and pursed his lips.

I knew you weren't that stupid," Trixie said lightly. "Besides, can I help it if I think he's sexy?"

"WHAT?" both James and Sirius shrieked. This caused even more students to stop and watch. Wormtail cowered in a corner and Remus cradled his forehead in his hand. Sirius turned around and gagged. James on the other hand, freaked out, and started to hurl hexes at anyone with black hair. Most of them were unintelligible babble and swear words but it was still a good thing that Sirius was standing behind him.

"CALM DOWN! I was just kidding!" Trixie exclaimed, trying to be heard over her cousin's frenzied shouts.

"That's nothing to kid about! Especially with Sirius around," James said breathlessly and jabbing his wand in Sirius' direction. Sirius jumped backward and held up his hands.

"If you don't like my sense of humor," Trixie said with an almighty air, "then don't talk to me." Then she turned on her heel and stalked away waving her arm in the air.

"She was kidding, right Moony?" Wormtail asked the boy who was still hiding his face.

"Who knows, Peter…" he said with a muffled voice.


	4. Chapter 4

Later that evening, Trixie fumed irritably in her common room. "That jerk! Who does he think he his? My father? Telling me who I can and can't hang out with! Jerk!" she said to an almost empty room as she paced back and forth in front of the fireplace.

Severus was curled up in the couch watching the green-tinted flames just beyond his friend. "Hm," he said, absently; lost in his own thoughts.

"Tell me about it! An-and him…prancing around hurling hexes everywhere almost getting us all detention! It's to satisfy his uncontrollable need for attention, that's what it is! That jerk! Why doesn't he have a girlfriend? He needs a girlfriend!"

"Mmhhmm," Severus answered, still lost.

"Ooohh. He makes me sick! No wonder he's girlfriend-less! Pompous idiot! I should…I should…" she sighed and then plopped down on the couch. "Never mind…I couldn't poison him anyway. Remu—ahem, his friends would never forgive me. Then…then…I'd be you." She chuckled softly and looked over at him.

"Yeah," he said quietly. "Maybe…hey, we should start on our lessons. It's getting late."

"Merlin! You're right! My first day and I'm already behind!" She hauled her bag to her lap and brought out a couple of her books. "So…what subject do you want to help me on first?" She asked laughing heartily.

Again, Trixie was up early thinking. _Hopefully, this won't be norm. I'd hate to fall asleep in class in my first week._ Coming to terms with the fact that she was not going to go back to sleep, she rolled out of bed and dressed quickly.

Severus was already up and appeared to be working hard at something. Four or five books were cluttering the table in front of him. He was bent over double writing very tiny letters on a piece of parchment.

"What are doing?" She sat next to him looking at his mess.

"Finishing up."

"I thought you finished last night."

"No…you finished last night. I was busy helping you out."

"I'm sorry. You didn't have to."

"Not your fault." He completed his sentence with a flourish, threw his quill down, and sat up. "Done."

"How long have you been up?" she asked looking up at his face.

"Not long…did you ever get to the owlery yesterday?" He was diligent in keeping his gaze ahead of him or on the books he was putting away, anywhere but on the girl beside him.

"Yeah, and resulted with me being late for potions. Needless to say, Slughorn doesn't like me much. I don't care much; his personality doesn't suit my fancy." She laughed.

His heart skipped a beat, what a beautiful sound. "Good."

"Is everything all right? You seem kind of distant today."

His stomach tied itself in a knot. "Get used to it."

"Okay."

This time he had to look at her. "Why do you say that!"

"Are you trying to confuse me?"

"No…well…ye—no!" He sighed. "Why are you so kind to me? Is it pay back for James or do you seriously want to know me?"

She stared at him for a full minute, looking him straight in the eyes. Searching. "I want to get to know you, Severus Snape. I can see where your suspicion might make it hard for you to trust me but you have to believe me. I'm sorry, but I really like you." She reached out and laid her hand on his resting on the table.

Throwing caution to the wind, he leaned forward towards those beautiful red lips. His face collided with a hand that wasn't his. He opened his eyes and looked away quickly. "Not like that," she said, quietly.

"I'm so sorry," he snapped up his bag and rushed out of the room.


	5. Chapter 5

Short addition, I know, for such a long hiatus. I'm just trying to feel out my groove again. I just hope I didn't lose my touch...please let me know if I did! I can't believe it's been almost 2 and a half years!

-Lillian-

Severus was absent from breakfast. In fact, the rest of the day, he generally avoided Trixie. Every once in a while, they would pass in the hall. She would send him a small wave but he would avert his gaze and stare at the opposite wall until they had passed each other. Trixie would bite her lip but she guessed he had a good enough reason to act that way. She still wished he would talk to her again…or at least show her the way to her classes; she got lost trying to find three of them.

It did not help that James and friends were outside every one of her classes. She wondered how they found the time to get from their classes to her's but then she remembered that they were excellent "Filch-escape" artists, so she didn't dwell on it too long.

After her third class, Defense Against the Dark Arts, she sighed loudly and rolled her eyes at James. She started to walk away but they easily caught up to her.

"Where's your boyfriend?" Sirius asked, in a tone of voice clearly meant to aggravate her. "OWW!" he exclaimed.

James had elbowed his friend hard in the arm. "Don't call him that," he hissed.

"If you mean, Severus, I don't know. He's not my boyfriend and I'm not his keeper," Trixie said with a frosty glare.

"See! That's the type of guy he is! He just up and leaves you!" James pointed at her. "Feathers, you shouldn't hang around scum like that!"

She finally lost her cool. "Scum?! Don't you dare call him that again! I already said he wasn't my boyfriend, so he can go wherever he pleases. And don't call me 'Feathers.' I don't want one of your stupid nicknames nor to be a part of your stupid group!!" She yelled. "Leave me alone!" She started to walk away.

"Wait, Trixie…" Remus called after her.

Her hand shot up in the air. Still walking away, she said, "Not now, Lupin."

/

Very late that night, Trixie sat dozing on the couch. She had already finished her assignments for the day so all she had to do was wait. She jerked awake when the wall several yards to her right rumbled to life. In stepped Severus Snape looking very weary.

She stood in front of him to block his path to the dormitories. She held out a large white napkin tied at the corners.

"What's that?" he asked, curtly.

"Well since I didn't see you at any of today's meals, I thought you might be hungry."

"I'm fine." He tried to squeeze past her but she held her ground and insisted by bumping his chest with the bundle. He gave her an annoyed look but took and opened it. He tried to move forward again but she still did not move. "Thank you. Was there something else?"

She sized him up before speaking again. "Yes, as a matter of fact there was." Severus folded his arms but said nothing. "I wanted to talk about this morning."

"What is there to talk about??" he cried out. "I made a stupid mistake that ruined everything! Ok?"

"It wasn't stup--"

Severus cut her off. "Oh, please. I made a fool of myself in front of the 'great James Potter's cousin'!"

She angrily pointed a long slender finger in his face. "You said you wouldn't hold that against me!"

The boy bit his lip and considered her words. "I apologize," he said quietly, looking at the ground.

Trixie dropped her hand. "Listen, it wasn't stupid. And you didn't screw anything up. It just startled me, you know? It just felt like everything was moving way too fast and don't want to put both our lives on the line on our second day of school. I'm just saying I think we should just stick to being friends for now. That way…well…" for once in her life, Trixie ran out of words to say.

"I understand," Severus said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Now, can I go to bed?"

She surveyed him carefully, making sure he was back to normal. He gave a small tired smile so she stood to the side and watched him descend the steps to his dorm. "You certainly have an odd taste in friends, Trixie," she said to herself. "Severus, what am I going to do with you?"


End file.
